THE SERMON THAT THE REVEREND FATHER IN CHRIST, M. HUGH LATIMER,
BISHOP OF WORCESTER, MADE TO THE CONVOCATION OF THE CLERGY, BEFORE
THE PARLIAMENT BEGAN, THE 9 DAY OF JUNE, THE 28 YEAR OF THE REIGN OF
OUR LATE KING HENRY THE 8. TRANSLATED OUT OF LATIN INTO ENGLISH, TO
THE INTENT THAT THINGS WELL SAID TO A FEW MAY BE UNDERSTOOD OF MANY,
AND DO GOOD TO ALL THEM THAT DESIRE TO UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH.

Filii hujus seculi, &c.—Luc. xvi.

["For the sons of this world are in their generation wiser than the sons of light." Luke 16:8]

Brethren, ye be come together this day, as far as I perceive, to
hear of great and weighty matters. Ye be come together to entreat
of things that most appertain to the commonwealth. This being thus,
ye look, I am assured, to hear of me, which am commanded to make as
a preface this exhortation, (albeit I am unlearned and far
unworthy,) such things as shall be much meet for this your assembly.
I therefore, not only very desirous to obey the commandment of our
Primate, but also right greatly coveting to serve and satisfy all
your expectation; lo, briefly, and as plainly as I can, will speak
of matters both worthy to be heard in your congregation, and also of
such as best shall become mine office in this place. That I may do
this the more commodiously, I have taken that notable sentence in
which our Lord was not afraid to pronounce "the children of this
world to be much more prudent and politic than the children of light
in their generation." Neither will I be afraid, trusting that he
will aid and guide me to use this sentence, as a good ground and
foundation of all such things, as hereafter I shall speak of.

Now, I suppose that you see right well, being men of such learning,
for what purpose the Lord said this, and that ye have no need to be
holpen with any part of my labour in this thing. But yet, if ye
will pardon me, I will wade somewhat deeper in this matter, and as
nigh as I can, fetch it from the first original beginning. For
undoubtedly, ye may much marvel at this saying, if ye well ponder
both what is said, and who saith it. Define me first these three
things: what prudence is; what the world; what light; and who be
the children of the world; who of the light: see what they signify
in scripture. I marvel if by and by ye all agree, that the children
of the world should be wiser than the children of the light. To
come somewhat nigher the matter, thus the Lord beginneth:

There was a certain rich man that had a steward, which was accused
unto him that he had dissipated and wasted his goods. This rich man
called his steward to him and said, What is this that I hear of
thee? Come, make me an account of thy stewardship; thou mayest no
longer bear this office.

Brethren, because these words are so spoken in a parable, and are so
wrapped in wrinkles, that yet they seem to have a face and a
similitude of a thing done indeed, and like an history, I think it
much profitable to tarry somewhat in them. And though we may
perchance find in our hearts to believe all that is there spoken to
be true; yet I doubt whether we may abide it, that these words of
Christ do pertain unto us, and admonish us of our duty, which do and
live after such sort, as though Christ, when he spake any thing,
had, as the time served him, served his turn, and not regarded the
time that came after him, neither provided for us, or any matters of
ours; as some of the philosophers thought, which said, that God
walked up and down in heaven, and thinketh never a deal of our
affairs. But, my good brethren, err not you so; stick not you to
such your imaginations. For if ye inwardly behold these words, if
ye diligently roll them in your minds, and after explicate and open
them, ye shall see our time much touched in these mysteries. Ye
shall perceive that God by this example shaketh us by the noses and
pulleth us by the ears. Ye shall perceive very plain, that God
setteth before our eyes in this similitude what we ought most to
flee, and what we ought soonest to follow. For Luke saith, "The
Lord spake these words to his disciples." Wherefore let it be out
of all doubt that he spake them to us, which even as we will be
counted the successors and vicars of Christ's disciples, so we be,
if we be good dispensers and do our duty. He said these things
partly to us, which spake them partly of himself. For he is that
rich man, which not only had, but hath, and shall have evermore, I
say not one, but many stewards, even to the end of the world.

He is man, seeing that he is God and man. He is rich, not only in
mercy but in all kind of riches; for it is he that giveth to us all
things abundantly. It is he of whose hand we received both our
lives, and other things necessary for the conservation of the same.
What man hath any thing, I pray you, but he hath received it of his
plentifulness? To be short, it is he that "openeth his hand, and
filleth all beasts with his blessing," and giveth unto us in most
ample wise his benediction. Neither his treasure can be spent, how
much soever he lash out; how much soever we take of him, his
treasure tarrieth still, ever taken, never spent.

He is also the good man of the house: the church is his household
which ought with all diligence to be fed with his word and his
sacraments. These be his goods most precious, the dispensation and
administration whereof he would bishops and curates should have.
Which thing St. Paul affirmeth, saying, "Let men esteem us as the
ministers of Christ, and dispensers of God's mysteries." But, I
pray you, what is to be looked for in a dispenser? This surely,
"That he be found faithful," and that he truly dispense, and lay out
the goods of the Lord; that he give meat in time; give it, I say,
and not sell it; meat, I say, and not poison. For the one doth
intoxicate and slay the eater, the other feedeth and nourisheth him.
Finally, let him not slack and defer the doing of his office, but
let him do his duty when time is, and need requireth it. This is
also to be looked for, that he be one whom God hath called and put
in office, and not one that cometh uncalled, unsent for; not one
that of himself presumeth to take honour upon him. And surely, if
all this that I say be required in a good minister, it is much
lighter to require them all in every one, than to find one any where
that hath them all. Who is a true and faithful steward? He is
true, he is faithful, that cometh no new money, but taketh it ready
coined of the good man of the house; and neither changeth it, nor
clippeth it, after it is taken to him to spend, but spendeth even
the self-same that he had of his Lord, and spendeth it as his Lord's
commandment is; neither to his own vantage uttering it, nor as the
lewd servant did, hiding it in the ground. Brethren, if a faithful
steward ought to do as I have said, I pray you, ponder and examine
this well, whether our bishops and abbots, prelates and curates,
have been hitherto faithful stewards or no? Ponder, whether yet
many of them be as they should be or no? Go ye to, tell me now as
your conscience leadeth you (I will let pass to speak of many
other), was there not some, that despising the money of the Lord, as
copper and not current, either coined new themselves, or else
uttered abroad newly coined of other; sometime either adulterating
the word of God or else mingling it (as taverners do, which brew and
utter the evil and good both in one pot), sometime in the stead of
God's word blowing out the dreams of men? while they thus preached
to the people the redemption that cometh by Christ's death to serve
only them that died before his coming, that were in the time of the
old testament; and that now since redemption and forgiveness of sins
purchased by money, and devised by men is of efficacy, and not
redemption purchased by Christ (they have a wonderful pretty example
to persuade this thing, of a certain married woman, which, when her
husband was in purgatory, in that fiery furnace that hath burned
away so many of our pence, paid her husband's ransom, and so of duty
claimed him to be set at liberty): while they thus preached to the
people, that dead images (which at the first, as I think, were set
up, only to represent things absent) not only ought to be covered
with gold, but also ought of all faithful and christian people (yea,
in this scarceness and penury of all things), to be clad with silk
garments, and those also laden with precious gems and jewels; and
that beside all this, they are to be lighted with wax candles, both
within the church and without the church, yea, and at noon days; as
who should say, here no cost can be too great; whereas in the mean
time we see Christ's faithful and lively images, bought with no less
price than with his most precious blood (alas, alas!) to be an
hungred, a-thirst, a-cold, and to lie in darkness, wrapped in all
wretchedness, yea, to lie there till death take away their miseries:
while they preached these will-works, that come but of our own
devotion, although they be not so necessary as the works of mercy,
and the precepts of God, yet they said, and in the pulpit, that
will-works were more principal, more excellent, and (plainly to
utter what they mean) more acceptable to God than works of mercy; as
though now man's inventions and fancies could please God better than
God's precepts, or strange things better than his own: while they
thus preached that more fruit, more devotion cometh of the beholding
of an image, though it be but a Pater-noster while, than is gotten
by reading and contemplation in scripture, though ye read and
contemplate therein seven years' space: finally, while they
preached thus, souls tormented in purgatory to have most need of our
help, and that they can have no aid, but of us in this world: of
the which two, if the one be not false, yet at the least it is
ambiguous, uncertain, doubtful, and therefore rashly and arrogantly
with such boldness affirmed in the audience of the people; the
other, by all men's opinions, is manifestly false: I let pass to
speak of much other such like counterfeit doctrine, which hath been
blasted and blown out by some for the space of three hours together.
Be these the Christian and divine mysteries, and not rather the
dreams of men? Be these the faithful dispensers of God's mysteries,
and not rather false dissipators of them? whom God never put in
office, but rather the devil set them over a miserable family, over
an house miserably ordered and entreated. Happy were the people if
such preached seldom.

And yet it is a wonder to see these, in their generation, to be much
more prudent and politic than the faithful ministers are in their
generation; while they go about more prudently to stablish men's
dreams, than these do to hold up God's commandments.

Thus it cometh to pass that works lucrative, will-works, men's
fancies reign; but christian works, necessary works, fruitful works,
be trodden under the foot. Thus the evil is much better set out by
evil men, than the good by good men; because the evil be more wise
than be the good in their generation. These be the false stewards,
whom all good and faithful men every day accuse unto the rich master
of the household, not without great heaviness, that they waste his
goods; whom he also one day will call to him, and say to them as he
did to his steward, when he said, "What is this that I hear of
thee?" Here God partly wondereth at our ingratitude and perfidy,
partly chideth us for them; and being both full of wonder and ready
to chide, asketh us, "What is this that I hear of you?" As though
he should say unto us, "All good men in all places complain of you,
accuse your avarice, your exactions, your tyranny. They have
required in you a long season, and yet require, diligence and
sincerity. I commanded you, that with all industry and labour ye
should feed my sheep: ye earnestly feed yourselves from day to day,
wallowing in delights and idleness. I commanded you to teach my
commandments, and not your fancies; and that ye should seek my glory
and my vantage: you teach your own traditions, and seek your own
glory and profit. You preach very seldom; and when ye do preach, do
nothing but cumber them that preach truly, as much as lieth in you:
that it were much better such were not to preach at all, than so
perniciously to preach. Oh, what hear I of you? You, that ought to
be my preachers, what other thing do you, than apply all your study
hither, to bring all my preachers to envy, shame, contempt? Yea,
more than this, ye pull them into perils, into prisons, and, as much
as in you lieth, to cruel deaths. To be short, I would that
christian people should hear my doctrine, and at their convenient
leisure read it also, as many as would: your care is not that all
men may hear it, but all your care is, that no lay man do read it:
surely, being afraid lest they by the reading should understand it,
and understanding, learn to rebuke our slothfulness. This is your
generation, this is your dispensation, this is your wisdom. In this
generation, in this dispensation, you be most politic, most witty.
These be the things that I hear of your demeanour. I wished to hear
better report of you. Have ye thus deceived me? or have ye rather
deceived yourselves? Where I had but one house, that is to say, the
church, and this so dearly beloved of me, that for the love of her
I
put myself forth to be slain, and to shed my blood; this church at
my departure I committed unto your charge, to be fed, to be
nourished, and to be made much of. My pleasure was ye should occupy
my place; my desire was ye should have borne like love to this
church, like fatherly affection, as I did: I made you my vicars,
yea, in matters of most importance.

"For thus I taught openly: 'He that should hear you, should hear
me; he that should despise you, should despise me.' I gave you also
keys, not earthly keys, but heavenly. I left my goods that I have
evermore most highly esteemed, that is, my word and sacraments, to
be dispensed of you. These benefits I gave you, and do you give me
these thanks? Can you find in your hearts thus to abuse my
goodness, my benignity, my gentleness? Have you thus deceived me?
No, no, ye have not deceived me, but yourselves. My gifts and
benefits towards you shall be to your greater damnation. Because
you have contemned the lenity and clemency of the master of the
house, ye have right well deserved to abide the rigour and severity
of the judge. Come forth then, let us see an account of your
stewardship. An horrible and fearful sentence: Ye may have no
longer my goods in your hands. A voice to weep at, and to make men
tremble!"

You see, brethren, you see, what evil the evil stewards must come
to. Your labour is paid for, if ye can so take heed, that no such
sentence be spoken to you; nay, we must all take heed lest these
threatenings one day take place in us. But lest the length of my
sermon offend you too sore, I will leave the rest of the parable and
take me to the handling of the end of it; that is, I will declare
unto you how the children of this world be more witty, crafty, and
subtle, than are the children of the light in their generation.
Which sentence would God it lay in my poor tongue to explicate with
such light of words, that I might seem rather to have painted it
before your eyes, than to have spoken it; and that you might rather
seem to see the thing, than to hear it! But I confess plainly this
thing to be far above my power. Therefore this being only left to
me, I wish for that I have not, and am sorry that that is not in me
which I would so gladly have, that is, power so to handle the thing
that I have in hand, that all that I say may turn to the glory of
God, your souls' health, and the edifying of Christ's body.
Wherefore I pray you all to pray with me unto God, and that in your
petition you desire, that these two things he vouchsafe to grant us,
first, a mouth for me to speak rightly; next, ears for you, that in
hearing me ye may take profit at my hand: and that this may come to
effect, you shall desire him, unto whom our master Christ bad we
should pray, saying even the same prayer that he himself did
institute. Wherein ye shall pray for our most gracious sovereign
lord the king, chief and supreme head of the church of England under
Christ, and for the most excellent, gracious, and virtuous lady
queen Jane, his most lawful wife, and for all his, whether they be
of the clergy or laity, whether they be of the nobility, or else
other his grace's subjects, not forgetting those that being departed
out of this transitory life, and now sleep in the sleep of peace,
and rest from their labours in quietness and peaceable sleep,
faithfully, lovingly, and patiently looking for that that they
clearly shall see when God shall be so pleased. For all these, and
for grace necessary, ye shall say unto God God's prayer, Pater-noster.